new to forum with question

Hi everyone!  I've browsed through some of the posts here and am finding tons of valuable info, and I am thrilled about it.  So heres what I am wondering, I believe I have PCOS.  I was told I had ovarian cysts, but have lots of the symptoms of PCOS.  THe dark skin patches, I have one on the back of my neck, and I never knew why.  The skin tags, acne, hairy arms, not too bad on the facial hair, but I feel like I have more than most women.  Then the weight issues, painful cramping, and all of a sudden at 34 years old I am on to my second irregular period.  Last month I had spotting during ovulation, then I had my period for 3 days which is normal for me, then 2 days later it came back for another 3 days.  Now I have my period this month with no signs of ovulation and the period came a week or so early.  

SOooo, is PCOS the same thing as ovarian cysts?  

I havent had any testing for it other than internal and external ultrasounds years ago after complaining of crippling pain.  Thats when they said I had large cysts on both ovaries.  Thats it, no other info, all I was given was a script for birth control to help with the cramping and help with the cysts.  I had no idea that all these other signs and symptoms I was experiencing had to do with PCOS.

Thanking you in advance for your input and advice.  I did read one of the ladies suggests seeing an endocrinologist, something I will look into.  Thanks again.

OK, I'll answer from my own understanding of the syndrome.  (I've had it since I was in my mid-20s, and I'm now 50.)

What happens in PCOS is that eggs are not shed from the ovaries as they should be.  They stay there, and turn into cysts that accumulate over time.  Soon there are many cysts there, of varying sizes.  (That's where the term "poly-cystic" comes from.)  Sometimes the cysts can be so large, or have other things going on with them, that they have to be surgically removed.  That's really something that needs to be discussed between you and your doctor.

Another thing to remember is that, while there is a list of symptoms associated with PCOS, not everyone will necessarily have every symptom.  For instance, I don't have male-pattern baldness, or hair where it doesn't belong.  (Or I didn't before I started menopause.  Now I've got these two little hairs on my *****  I have acne, dark patches under my arms, sleep apnea,  high blood pressure, high cholesterol at times, and some other symptoms.  I haven't had a "normal" period in my life, and now I haven't had one at all for seven months.  (Again, thanks to menopause.) 

I agree that you should be seeing an endocrinologist for help with your PCOS.  But, bear in mind that not all gynecologists or endocrinologists are well-trained in treating PCOS.  Some don't even believe that the syndrome exists.  Be sure that you ask, before you go, how the doctor approaches women who have PCOS.

Good luck.

PCOS is not the same thing as ovarian cysts. Confusingly, not every woman with polycystic appearing ovaries has PCOS, and a woman with PCOS can have normal appearing ovaries.

There are some test that an endo can do to determine whether you have PCOS--there are blood tests that measure certain things. Also, to get a diagnosis of PCOS, they need to rule out Cushings, which is a different medical problem which has some of the same symptoms as PCOS. (To test for Cushings, you have to give a 24-hour urine sample)

I see a doc who is a PCOS specialist and does research on it. Even though I already "knew" I had PCOS when I came to him, he insisted on doing an oral glucose tolerance test. As expected, it came back showing that I was very insulin resistant (but not diabetic). Combined with the negative Cushings test, the polycystic appearing ovaries, etc, I was diagnosed with PCOS, although mine is "atypical" PCOS. (Hard to remember exactly what that meant--my doc explained it to me a while ago.)

Definitely, go see your endo. Good luck!

 Thank you for your input ladies.  I will continue on with my research and get a hold of my doc to see where everything stands.